Manchester United are confident of beating Liverpool and PSG in signing PSV Eindhoven forward Memphis Depay(Getty)

Manchester United have reportedly taken the lead in the race for PSV Eindhoven forward Memphis Depay after flying the youngster to England for talks over a summer move.

According to the Mirror, the Red Devils will face competition from Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool for the signature, but they have taken the first step to ensure he ends up at Old Trafford next season.

United are confident of sealing the young Dutchman's signature and have flown down his agent Kees Ploegsma along with the forward to seal the deal.

Interested clubs are willing to match PSV's £25m valuation of the player and Louis van Gaal's team have supposedly offered Depay a £130,000-a-week ($196,000) to swap the Eredivisie for the Premier League.

However, according to the Daily Mail, the 21-year-old forward has also held talks with PSG after receiving permission from his club to do so. This will come as a warning to the English clubs as the Qatari owned outfit is said to have offered better financial terms than the English duo.

But United hold an advantage over other teams due to the close relationship between Depay and Van Gaal, as the striker was given his Netherlands debut by the former Bayern Munich manager.

Meanwhile, Ajax legend Ronald de Boer has hailed Depay as one of the best talents in Europe and has compared him to World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo.

The current head coach of the Ajax academy believes that United hold the advantage over rival clubs due to compatriot Van Gaal's presence at Old Trafford.

"I don't want to say which club is more suitable for him. But if he goes to United he knows there's a Dutch coach there in Van Gaal who knows him from the World Cup," De Boer said, as quoted by the Mirror.

"That's an advantage. He's one of the biggest talents in Europe - he has everything."

"He has skill compared to a young Cristiano Ronaldo. He is very lively, technically unbelievable, very skilful, very fast, he has a great goalscoring record, he can shoot from every distance," the Dutchman explained.